Ministry readies to vaccinate KUMACA students against H1NI virus

About 3000 students and teachers of the Kumasi Academy are on standby to be vaccinated against the H1N1 virus.

Health Minister Kweku Agyemang Manu said vaccines have arrived in Ghana and have been transported to the Ashanti Regional Capital, Kumasi.

The Minister told Joy News’ Emefa Apawu they are waiting for the students to finish writing their exams so the vaccination will begin.

He was quick to add though that the vaccination will be done before the students break for the Christmas holidays.

At least four students died in November in what was initially feared to be an outbreak of meningitis. A dozen others were hospitalized.

However, autopsy reports proved negative for meningitis prompting health authorities to begin further probe into the actual cause of the deaths.

This triggered fear and panic in the school with some students running home to safety.

Officials at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research later found the students died from the swine flu.

Even though there were initial delays by the Health Ministry and the WHO in bringing swine flu vaccines into the country, the vaccines have finally arrived.

When he was asked if the families of the students who went home would also be vaccinated, the health minister said the incubation period- the period between exposure to an infected person and the appearance of the first symptoms- for the swine flu is four days and if it was the case that any family member of the students had been infected it would have been public knowledge.

It has been nearly a month since the last case was reported.

The Minister said the situation had been contained even before the vaccine arrived in the country and assured there is no cause for alarm.